A MAN reportedly tried to drag a woman out of a van during an alleged assault in Dorchester.

Police are appealing for information after an incident at around 8.45pm on Wednesday (April 19).

Officers said a man and woman, who were known to each other, were driving in a white Ford Transit van in Herringston Road, between Herringston House and the Weldmar Hospice, with two children in the vehicle.

It was reported a man who was driving stopped the vehicle and assaulted the woman. They returned to the car and stopped again near the hospice, where he reportedly attempted to drag the woman from the vehicle.

The woman and children then left the scene on foot, walking toward Dorset County Hospital.

Following enquiries, a 32-year-old man of no fixed abode was arrested on suspicion of assault occasioning actual bodily harm. He has been released on police bail as the investigation continues.

PC David Hughes, of Dorset Police, said: “We are conducting enquiries into this incident, and I am keen to hear from anyone who saw what happened or who may have captured any relevant dashcam footage.

“I am particularly keen to speak to a female witness who may have come across the woman around the junction of Herringston Road and Maumbury Road and another woman who was driving a Mini Cooper in the area of Edward Road, near to the junction with the B3147 Weymouth Avenue.”

Anyone with information should contact Dorset Police via www.dorset.police.uk or by calling 101, quoting incident number 55230059889. They can also call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.